Two recent Christian books arguing that not all homosexual acts are sinful have left industry observers wondering whether evangelical publishers — especially those owned by secular corporations — will produce more material outside the bounds of traditional orthodoxy.

"Publishing houses are going to have to wrestle with what their starting point is," Selma Wilson, vice president of the B&H Publishing Group at LifeWay Christian Resources, told Baptist Press. "If your starting point is to make money or your starting point is to be a New York Times bestseller, you’re going to do different things" than publishers focused on faithfulness to Christ.

In April the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group’s sister imprint Convergent Books released Matthew Vines’ "God and the Gay Christian," a book arguing that the Bible permits monogamous same-sex relationships. In October Howard Books is scheduled to release Christian singer Jennifer Knapp’s book "Facing the Music," a memoir recounting, among other things, her coming out as a lesbian.

Response: The trend is not encouraging. Will Christian publishers be faced with funding problems if they continue to maintain a Biblical view and standard. At least one major player in the industry looks for a consolidation with fewer participants in the future.

Then there is the trend which is seeing fewer and fewer ‘brick and mortar’ Christian bookstores across America. This also will affect the profitability of the Christian publishers who increasingly will have to depend upon the big secular book chains and internet sites to sell their productions. This trend would seem to run counter toward maintaining a Biblical stand. *Top